Aiden {10 Months}

My little man is officially 10 months old today. We are in Double digits!!! This last month was huge because Aiden finally started crawling forward and is now all over the place. He loves chasing the cats around and is drawn to any and every cord in the house. Yikes! He also started pulling up on things on his own. This kid loves to be standing and no longer enjoys laying down in one place making changing his diaper and this month's photo shoot quite interesting.

One of my favorite things Aiden started doing this month is dancing. Whenever he hears his favorite songs he looks at us and starts bopping up and down and waving his arms. It is the cutest thing ever. We have dance parties often in the Renner house these days and we break it down every time the Thomas the train theme song comes on.

This month Aiden surprised us with what we are calling his first words! One of his favorite books is Brown Bear, Brown Bear and we read it to him all.the.time! Well all of the sudden Aiden decided he wanted to say Brown Bear back to us. I was shocked and was able to get it on video...you can see it over on my Instagram account. I've probably watched it 100 times already! We are blown away by his smarts and how much he wants to talk to us!

A few stats about Aiden at ten months:

Weight: 18.1 pounds

Height: 27 inches (My little man is only in the 6th percentile for height, but at least he's proportional...says the pediatrician. Haha.

Size Clothes: 9 months

Sleeping: We had a few glorious nights in a row where Aiden decided to sleep from 8-5. Wow. Drew and I didn't know what to do with ourselves and were feeling pretty great, but then those precious nights were over. He isn't sleeping terribly, but wakes up a few times a night and can't soothe himself back to sleep, which I'm learning is totally my fault. #momfail Oh well. I'm currently reading Elizabeth Pantley's The No-Cry Sleep Solution and am trying a few of her tips. One that has been working for us so far is having Aiden sleep with a "lovey." He now cuddles with his fox (pictured above) when he sleeps. It is so adorable to see your baby cuddling with a stuffed animal. Aw.

Eating: This month Aiden tried scrambled eggs for the first time. He loves them and now eats them with his oatmeal for breakfast. I'm still making most of his food, but he is also eating Puffs now and loves the pouches from Ella's Kitchen. I have made a few baby approved meals that I'll be sharing soon. (Lentil and Brown Rice Soup and Rice Pudding)

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Baby Hunny, Beebo, Buster, Love Bug, Pumpkin.

Likes: Blowing bubbles in his water cup, barking at Trigger, snuggling with his fox stuffed animal, SAYING "Brown Bear!" Chasing cars around the house, Bananas, Puffs

Dislikes: Sitting still, Being dropped off in the nursery at church.

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         Nine Month Update          Ten Month Update        

I'm not the mom I thought I'd be

Before becoming a Mom I had all kinds of ideas of what motherhood would be like and what I would be like as a Mom. My Pinterest boards were full of homemade baby recipes, fun projects to do with my newborn's hospital cap and bracelet, pictures I'd be sure to take, books I would definitely read, etc. But I was nervous about how I would handle it all when the time came.

Would I be a ranting crazy sleep-deprived Mama who would only be able to survive on coffee? {Which I didn't even like.} Would I make my own baby food like I planned? Would I be one of those moms that stayed home to keep my baby on a schedule? Would I like breastfeeding and be able to attempt a whole year of it?

Now 10 months in, the one thing I do know is, I'm not the Mom I thought I'd be and I'm okay with that.

I really thought I'd care more about germs, but I don't care so much about germs. Right now everything is going in his mouth and while I try to stop it, it is going to happen so I don't stress about it.

I was scared that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed my baby or that I wouldn't like it. Despite it being incredibly hard, it is also such a beautiful thing and I can officially say I love it.

I thought I'd be embarrassed to ask certain questions especially ones that a mom "should" know the answer to, I'm not. I ask Moms at the grocery store questions with no shame. Haha.

I follow all the food rules and will not be giving my baby ice cream or strawberries or honey or fish or chocolate before he's officially 1.

My baby is crawling and you'd think I'd be more motivated to vacuum. I'm not.

I thought for sure I'd never in a million years be able to breastfeed in public. But I have and in a food court no less.

When we are out and about and my baby's bedtime is approaching it stresses me out and I make every possible attempt to get him home and in bed on time. Yes there are exceptions and yes when we have a babysitter I'm fine, but his routine is important to me.

While I love cute clothes, I don't get out and shop much for Aiden's outfits, which really surprised me. I get most of his clothes from Target, other people or Mom sales.

I thought I'd worry all the time thanks to my Type A personality, but I don't. I'm way more laid back with my baby than I could have ever dreamed.

I thought I'd read more books and follow developmental milestones more closely. I know what Aiden should be doing thanks to some great apps, but I don't compare as much as I thought I might and I definitely haven't read as many books as I planned.

I thought I'd be able to let my baby cry it out so I could actually get some sleep. I don't. I rock my baby to sleep every night and never let him cry it out.

I started drinking coffee and wearing my hair in a messy top knot 88% of my days.

I care a lot more about the food he eats than the food I eat. I make most of his food and know more about the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables now than I ever did before.

I thought having a baby would make me NOT want another one right away, but I think about having more kids a lot sooner than I thought I would.

We all have our ideas of how we think we will be as a Mom and really what other Moms should be like. Don't let those ideas consume you. Focus on the things that are important to you (regardless of what others say) and high five the Moms around you for doing the same thing even if it looks different. 

Mamas out there...

Are you the kind of mom you thought you'd be?

A Kentucky Wedding Y'all

Last weekend my cousin Shirley got married. I love family weddings because I get to have all my family in one place for a few precious hours. It was a beautiful Southern wedding complete with Mint Juleps, bourbon everything and of course Derby pie. It was the perfect first wedding for Aiden to go to. I won't lie though, I was nervous during the ceremony because I didn't want to be the Mom who let her child melt down and ruin a perfectly beautiful moment. But Aiden did great and puffs kept him satisfied and quiet the whole time. High five to all the Moms who have had to entertain their little ones at a wedding ceremony! 

The reception was laid back and fun. There was a photo booth, a popcorn machine, ice cream cart and lawn games outside complete with hay bales covered in quilts for people to sit on. So adorable.We ate, we mingled and then we danced. Aiden was enthralled with the disco ball on the dance floor. He was also enthralled by my brother's hilarious dance moves. Here's a peek at our night...

And they all lived happily ever after.

{Summer Bucket List Update} The Columbus Zoo!

Now that Drew is back to work summer is officially over in my book. We had a great summer with Aiden and were able to cross a lot off of our Summer bucket list including a trip to the Columbus Zoo back in early July. I have always wanted to visit Jack Hanna's zoo and now that my sister in law lives in Columbus we had a reason to visit it! I love our Cincinnati Zoo, but I was also very impressed with the Columbus zoo and all it had to offer. Our favorite part was their Africa exhibit. We went on an overcast day and we didn't go until 3 so it wasn't very crowded and we had an awesome time!

After we left the zoo we stayed the night at Aunt Chelsey's. It was Aiden's first sleepover. He did great despite puking up blueberry oatmeal on Chelsey's couch the next morning. Sorry Chels. Haha.

Do you like your city's zoo?

Have you been to other city's zoos?

Come Sail Away

The original reason for us planning our beach vacation was to be together as a family for the year anniversary of my father in law's passing. We all knew it would be a day we would want to be together so we planned to go to the beach that my father in law vacationed on as a kid to spread his ashes. We thought he would love it if a part of him belonged in the ocean that he loved so much as a child. The captain of our boat took us out to a beautiful spot with a bell buoy that chimed in the background as we sent him off. It was perfect.

We cried a lot, but we also laughed as we shared some of our favorite Terry stories. Then we all took a shot of Jack Daniels (my father in law's drink of choice) as we listened to "Come Sail Away" blast through the speakers of our sailboat.

I questioned whether or not to even bring my camera on the boat not knowing if this was something I would feel up to taking pictures of, but these pictures tug at my heart as I look back at them. Each one tells a story of bravery, of courage, of sadness, but also of hope. The family Terry left behind is a strong one and is one filled with so much love. I know he is proud of them all.

We miss you every single day Terry and wish you were still here with us, but I'm so thankful that instead of saying goodbye, that we could say see you later. 

Beach Family Photo Shoot

While vacationing on Anna Maria Island we knew we had to attempt some family beach pictures. Duh. So Saturday morning we all got dressed and ready and within minutes of when we were going to head out a storm blew in. Wah way wah. Thankfully later that afternoon the storm let up and we hit the beach for pictures. We used my tripod and camera remote and I'm actually really happy with how most of the pictures turned out despite it being extremely bright and very windy. Here's a look at some of my favorites from our family photo shoot and then of course I had to share some outtakes.

And here are some outtakes of the whole crew, which actually might be my favorites...

Aiden {9 Months}

My baby is now 9 months old. I have carried him in my arms as long as I carried him in my belly and that is just plain crazy and makes me want to cry big old mom tears. This month I truly feel like I've watched my baby start to turn into a little boy. He is throwing things like a boy, grunting like a boy and gets this little sneaky grin on his face when he is up to no good, but I can't help but laugh. He is so stinkin' cute.

This month Aiden has been working so hard to crawl. He gets up on all fours and sticks his but up in the air. He gets one leg going, but then that's it. Then he reverts back to his backward sliding and often ends up under a chair, but I have full confidence that this is the month he will start crawling. He is also pulling himself up on everything and is very motivated by our cat's tails. The cats are in for a rude awakening.

This month was full of firsts especially when it comes to traveling. He went on his first two road trips, one to Yellow Springs and the other to Columbus to visit Aunt Chelsey. He also rode on his first airplane and went on his first sailboat ride!

Aiden continues to be the sunshine of our lives. He is so easily entertained especially by sounds. The ZZZZ sound almost always makes him laugh. I swear the kid just loves to laugh.

He recognizes when his favorite songs come on now and even bops along with them. His favorites are: You are my Sunshine, Thomas the Train theme song and the Daniel Tiger theme song. He also loves listening to Brown Bear, Brown Bear and is instantly mesmerized by that first phrase.

A few stats about Aiden at nine months:

Weight: 17.7 pounds

Height: ?

Size clothes:  9 month and some 12 month

Sleeping: Please take me back to the days when my little guy would sleep for 6-7 hours in a row. I blame the tooth that is about to push it's way through, but I'm praying we start getting some consistent sleep again soon. Let's just say this mama misses sleep. A LOT.

Eating: I am proud to say that I have made it to the 9 month mark and am still breastfeeding. I consider it one of my greatest accomplishments and plan to continue until at least the one year mark. Besides a whole lot of mama's milk he is eating solids 2-3 times a day. His current favorite is oatmeal with berries. 

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Big chunks (Thanks Uncle Arjun), Beebo, Bubba Hunny

Likes: Twirling his hair while he eats, being on vacation, the pool, mega blocks, being read to, pulling the cats tails, riding in shopping carts, growling and grunting, pulling Mom's hair.

Dislikes: Avocado (is he really my child??), teething, laying still while he gets his diaper changed, not eating when we eat.

         One Month Update          Two Month Update         Three Month Update        Four Month Update

         Five Month Update          Six Month Update         Seven Month Update        Eight Month Update

I feel like things are about to get crazy this month with a mobile baby...